


You Matter (Ready to Fly excerpt)

by GleekMom



Category: Glee
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Previously Published, Ready to Fly excerpt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 03:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5651251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleekMom/pseuds/GleekMom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hi, Gleekmom here. </p>
<p>The Prompt: Basically the missing scene in 4x10, where Burt talks to Blaine about his cancer and convinces him to come to New York with him for Christmas.<br/>Everything else is open to the filler.</p>
<p>This fill for the Glee Prompt Meme is an excerpt from the "Glee, Actually" chapter of my series, "Ready to Fly". I know it's kind of cheating, but it fit the prompt exactly and I love this scene and I think it works as a stand-alone out of context too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Matter (Ready to Fly excerpt)

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [GleePromptMeme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GleePromptMeme) collection. 



Blaine's nerves raced as he drove straight from Glee rehearsal on the last day before Christmas break to meet Burt at Breadstix. The call was a huge surprise. Maybe Kurt had changed his mind about coming to Ohio. Or maybe Burt was going to finally confront him for betraying Kurt and preventing his son from wanting to come home to his family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or maybe Burt felt sorry for him and was inviting him to Zanesville. Or maybe…

He decided getting out of the car and walking into the restaurant was a better idea than sitting alone in the parking lot staring at the door mulling over the possibilities of why the man he respected more than any other in the world had called him out of the blue and asked to meet for dinner. He walked inside and scanned the crowd, seeing Burt sitting toward the middle of the restaurant in a booth for two. Blaine headed over and stood tentatively next to the table. "Hello Sir," he said formally.

Burt kept on his best poker face, the one that Blaine found more intimidating than any other, and invited Blaine to sit.

"Thank you Sir." Blaine took off his coat and laid it neatly beside himself. He forced himself to meet Burt's eyes briefly, but his guilt and shame weighed heavily on him in the presence of Kurt's father. He hastily averted his eyes, concentrating intently on the menu.

Burt allowed Blaine his time and his silence, knowing how hard it must have been for the boy to even come to meet him. Kurt had told him everything he knew about what had gone on and while it wasn't much, it was enough. Burt had his own thoughts but he had kept them to himself this long, believing that Kurt had to make his own choices about his relationship with Blaine. He still believed that. But he also believed that everything happened for a reason. Even the bad things.

"So Kurt tells me you're going to be hanging out in Westerville for Christmas," Burt said, breaking the silence once they'd placed their orders. "How do you feel about that?"

Blaine avoided Burt's gaze, concentrating hard on stirring his coffee. "Spending Christmas watching my parents navigate their tentative reconciliation while I brood over the fact that Kurt's not home for ice skating and hot chocolate like he promised? Sounds like the worst Christmas ever," Blaine grumbled.

Burt chuckled at the pout that was so similar to Kurt's, but he looked at Blaine and saw not the bright eyed always smiling boy that he'd come to know. He saw the hurt, broken kid of two summers ago. It pained him to see that Blaine back in front of him again. "Look kid, I've been meaning to call you, but some things have gotten in the way."

"You don't need to explain Sir," Blaine said into his coffee. "I understand."

"No, you don't." Burt's voice was so firm it made Blaine look up. "Look, I don't know how I feel about telling you this before I tell Kurt, but I feel like I owe it to you. I know how much you must have needed a Dad with all this going on with Kurt, and I wasn't there for you like I should have been."

"It's okay, really. I mean, I get that you're on Kurt's side. I mean, you should be. I mean, I am too, mostly, there's no excuse, so…" Blaine rambled on, stopping only when Burt placed his hand on top of his own. It was so much rougher than his son's, but just like that summer, they were as caring and soothing as Kurt's.

"Blaine, stop," Burt said gently and he waited until Blaine's eyes settled on his. "I have prostate cancer. That's why I didn't call you sooner."

Blaine froze, trapping his breath for a moment before it was swept from his lungs. The room suddenly swayed and spun until Burt tightened his grip on Blaine's hand, bringing his thoughts back from the depths of despair. He lowered his eyes slowly and forced back the tears that threatened to fall. A life flashed before his eyes. A life without Kurt or Burt in it. A life without love. A life without a father who he could be safe with. Or if by some miracle Kurt came back to him, a wedding with no one to give his beloved away. He imagined children without a grandfather they could ever truly trust. That was all it took for the tears to fall for real before Blaine could catch his breath and wipe them quickly away, fighting them back with all his might.

"It's okay son," Burt said gently.

Blaine wished they weren't in a public place because his heart hurt so much that all he wanted to do was break down sobbing. "What do…" he took a deep breath and tried again to get the words out without falling apart. "What do the doctors say?" he whispered.

"They say I'm going to be fine," Burt assured him. "They caught it early, the tests indicate it hasn't spread, so they'll do some surgery and hopefully all will be fine. 100% cured."

Blaine nodded and looked away. "I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to feel the way I do," Blaine said, not being able to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. "I mean, you're not my father, and after what I did to Kurt…"

"You messed up kid," Burt acknowledged, but his voice was tempered. "And I'll never say that what you did was okay because it wasn't. You remember that talk you asked me to have with Kurt two years ago? You remember what I told him?"

"Yes sir," Blaine said softly. "You told him that he matters."

"Well what you did…I'm sure it kind of made him feel like he didn't matter that much, at least to you," Burt said honestly, not pulling any punches. He needed to know what Blaine was thinking.

Blaine dropped his head in his hands, his heart once again shattering, his words trembling. "Kurt is the only thing that matters to me."

Burt took his words in for a minute before answering. "Did you tell him that?" he asked.

"I tried. He wouldn't listen."

"Ah yes," Burt nodded knowingly. "I am quite familiar with the fingers in the ears, the humming…" Blaine chuckled into his hands at Burt's words despite himself. "And I know I'm not Kurt, but if you want to talk to someone, a Hummel who will listen, I am happy to do that."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Burt," Blaine whispered. "At times you've been the closest thing I've had to a father, but I wasn't sure, and then…"

Burt gripped his hand again. "You're like a son to me Blaine, and one mistake ain't gonna change that. I've told you time and again, you are a part of this family and that's true whether you and Kurt are together or not. I don't turn my back on family." Blaine took in his words and wrapped them up like a hug he would hold onto forever. "So listen to me when I tell you," Burt said turning stern. "Kurt's not the only one who matters. So this listening I'm going to do when we get back from New York will also have a little talking about you not throwing yourself around either, understood?"

Blaine nodded. "I'd really like that Sir," Blaine said with a ghost of a smile, then did a double take. "Wait, what do you mean when we get back from New York?"

Burt shrugged nonchalantly, though the twinkle in his eye betrayed him. "Well, I thought you might want to come with me to the city for Christmas. There's no way I'm going to let Kurt get away with not spending time with his old man two holidays in a row. Plus, I hate flying alone and my son owes you a hot chocolate and some ice skating. I hear Bryant Park is way better than the Augalize."

"You're serious?" Blaine asked, his heart leaping excitedly in his chest.

"I'm not really much of a jokester Blaine," Burt arched his brow and smirked. "We'll be in Zanesville for the weekend then I'll come get you in Westerville early Monday and we'll head over to the airport. As long as it's okay with your parents."

Suddenly Blaine frowned. "You think Kurt will…" he trailed off, but Burt knew what he was asking.

"I think Kurt will need you there," he said seriously. "Even if he doesn't know it."

* * *

* * *

"No one ever told me that I mattered." Blaine stared out the car window as Burt drove him back to Westerville from the airport. Burt sat quietly letting the boy talk. "In fact quite the opposite. My Dad was pretty clear that he was sure I would just sleep around, sell myself. When I was with Eli, those words came rushing back to me. I wonder if Kurt and I would be where we are today if he'd never said those things to me." Blaine spoke more out loud to himself than in search of an answer and Burt just listened carefully. After a few moments, Blaine continued. "I'm afraid he might fall in love with someone else," he whispered.

Burt looked over to him than back out the windshield. "He might," he admitted and raised an eyebrow. "You might too."

But Blaine shook his head. "No. Kurt's it for me."

Burt was quiet for a minute. When he spoke, it was pensive. "You know, when Kurt's mom died, I thought that was it for me. She'd been my high school sweetheart, the love of my life. It wasn't perfect, we had our ups and downs, but she was all I ever wanted. I couldn't imagine life without her." He glanced over and Blaine was watching him intently. "Then Kurt introduced me to Carole. And somehow, I knew that though a door had closed, another had opened. And I had to make a choice whether or not to walk through."

"I haven't closed the door on Kurt," Blaine insisted.

"All I'm saying is that you need to be open to other possibilities. I know you love Kurt. You always will and he will always love you, I'm sure of that. But right now, you have to accept that the door closed the moment you did what you did. Now I know for a fact that Kurt hasn't locked it, or thrown away the key. But don't be surprised if he starts looking to see what other doors are open." He looked over at Blaine. He couldn't totally read what the boy was thinking, but he knew he'd heard. "But that's enough metaphors from me for one day."

Blaine sat quietly the rest of the trip lost in his racing thoughts of Kurt dating. He knew he would. He knew he should. But the thought of Kurt's lips on someone else's lips, of Kurt sharing his secrets with another man, twisted his heart painfully.

They pulled into the driveway in Westerville where his mother's car still sat and Blaine took a deep breath before moving to exit the car. He reached for the door, but Burt stopped him with a hand on his knee. Blaine turned.

"I got something I want to say before you go," Burt said seriously. "And since you're family, I'm not going to sugar coat it. But it's your choice to go or hear me out."

Blaine considered him briefly then took his hand off the door. He would always hear Burt out, even when it hurt, because he always knew it would be what he needed to hear.

Burt nodded at his choice. Blaine was a good kid, but what he'd said earlier had struck a nerve with him and he couldn't shake it. "The last two years, over and over again, I've seen you defy your father's words and expectations to be an incredible friend and an incredible man. The things that he's done, they are a part of you, but they don't control you. Your choices are your own. Your responsibility. So it's time to stop blaming your Dad for them and let him off the hook."

Blaine took the words in and let them settle in his mind and his heart. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Thanks Burt." He grabbed his bag at his feet and opened the door.

 

 


End file.
